The number of U.S. company bankruptcies in January-July 2023 reached 402, the highest number for the period since 2010, excluding the “covid” 2020, according to a report from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
“High interest rates and a troubled operating environment continue to drive the collapse of U.S. companies,” the analysts wrote.
The number of bankruptcies in the seven-month period is nearly double the rate for the same period in 2022. In January-July 2020, the figure was 407 as the coronavirus pandemic caused many firms to close.
In July alone, 64 companies filed for bankruptcy in the U.S., the highest since March’s 70. The largest of them was the aircraft leasing company Voyager Aviation Holdings LLC, which owes more than $1 billion. In June, there were four companies with debts of more than $1 billion that filed for bankruptcy.
PJSC “Cherkassyoblenergo” in the first half of 2023 in preparation for the fall-winter period repaired more than 430 overhead power lines 0,4-20 kW and 35-154 kV, as well as 96 transformer substations, the press service reported.
As noted in its release on Thursday, in addition, 64 6-20 kV transformers have been repaired and put in proper condition, 187 damaged cable lines with voltage above 1,000 V have been restored, and about 1,800 km of overhead lines have been cleared.
“Currently, all planned tasks are performed in a timely manner and in full, so tentatively the work will be completed before the start of the heating season,” commented Oleg Samchuk, Chairman of the Board of PJSC PJSC, whose words are quoted in the release.
The press service added that the accumulation of emergency stocks of materials and equipment continues.
Net profit of state-owned PrivatBank (Kyiv) for January-June 2023 amounted to UAH 29.75 billion, which is 4.7 times higher than in the same period of 2022, according to the unconsolidated semi-annual report of the bank.
According to it, in particular, in the second quarter of this year net profit reached UAH 13.7 billion, which is 5.3 times higher than the net profit for the second quarter of last year.
It is indicated that the net interest income of PrivatBank for the first half of the year increased by 81.4% to UAH 27.86 billion, including in the second quarter the growth amounted to 74.2% to UAH 14.09 billion.
Meanwhile, net fee and commission income in January-June this year increased by 41.3% to UAH 11.64 billion, including in the second quarter – by 43.65% to UAH 5.94 billion.
A significant contribution to the improvement of the bank’s financial result was made by a decrease in the loss from utility reduction in the first half of this year to UAH 769 million, while for the same period last year this indicator amounted to UAH 7.54 billion. According to the report, in the second quarter of this year, this item even generated UAH 51 million in profit against a loss of UAH 5.67 billion in the second quarter of last year.
PrivatBank also reports that its total profit for the first half of this year reached UAH 35.89 billion, which is 7.4 times higher than the figure for January-June last year, including a total profit of UAH 19.325 billion in the second quarter-2023 against UAH 4.85 billion in the same period of 2022.
According to the report, the bank’s assets grew by 5% in the first half of 2023, reaching UAH 568.84 billion by June 30.
This growth is explained by an increase in cash and funds with the NBU from UAH 96.4 billion to UAH 148.23 billion and loans and advances to customers from UAH 68.08 billion to UAH 76.53 billion, while investments in securities increased marginally from UAH 239.75 billion to UAH 240.64 billion, and debts of other banks decreased by 24.6% to UAH 78.3 billion.
PrivatBank’s customer funds increased from UAH 471.97 billion to UAH 488.06 billion in the first six months of 2023, while capital increased from UAH 57.79 billion to UAH 69.52 billion.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine as of June 1, 2023, PrivatBank is the leader in terms of total assets (UAH 742.433 billion) among 65 operating banks in the country.
According to the NBU, Privat closed 79 branches in the second quarter, reducing its network to 1,131 units across Ukraine, although its report said it had eight branches and 1,199 operating outlets at mid-year, just one less than at the beginning of the year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is confident that “Transcarpathia will be one of the drivers of economic and social growth”.
He wrote this in his Telegram channel following a coordination meeting on the security and social situation in Transcarpathia held in Uzhgorod on Wednesday.
“Strategic for the region border issues. Relocation of business and the creation of new jobs in different communities of the region is an important area of work. Facilities for the rehabilitation of our warriors are the right projects. A lot of initiatives to develop the economy of Transcarpathia – those opportunities that have not been used for decades,” – emphasized the head of state.
“Transcarpathia will be one of the drivers of economic and social growth. Thank you to everyone in Transcarpathia, who works for the good of Ukraine and helps to bring our victory closer,” – wrote Zelensky.
Ukraine’s largest mobile operator Kyivstar increased its UAH revenue by 16.8% in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the same period of 2022 – to UAH 8.609 billion (in dollars it decreased by 6.5% – to $235 million), according to the report of its parent company VEON on Thursday.
According to it, Kyivstar’s EBITDA profit in hryvnia increased by 11.6% to UAH 5.085 billion (down 10.7% to $139 million in dollars) compared to the same period last year, while its EBITDA margin decreased by 2.9 percentage points (p.p.) to 59%.
“Despite the challenging operating environment, Kyivstar’s revenue and EBITDA growth accelerated in the reporting quarter. “Kyivstar and VEON have committed $600 mln over the next three years, investing in rebuilding Ukrainian infrastructure through communication and digital services,” the report says.
It is specified that revenues from mobile services grew by 17.1% y-o-y to UAH 8.066 billion thanks to the growth of data consumption by 25.6% to 9.9 GB per user per month, (in money the growth amounted to 17.6% to UAH 4.679 billion) compared to the same period last year and the increase in roaming.
As for EBITDA, VEON notes the impact of a 33% YoY increase in electricity tariffs, UAH 92 mln of charitable donations, and staff and customer support programs in the second quarter of 2023. As a result, these operating expenses reduced the company’s EBITDA margin by 2.7 p.p. – to 59.1%.
It is pointed out that the number of Kyivstar 4G users reached 13.1 million (+13.5% year-on-year) and now accounts for 54.3% of the total subscriber base (+7.7 p.p. year-on-year).
“The growth in the number of 4G users combined with new value propositions ensured a 22.6% increase in ARPU – to UAH 110.2 – year-on-year,” the report said.
At the same time, Kyivstar’s overall mobile subscriber base decreased by 2.6% year-on-year to 24.1 million, as it continued to be affected by the number of Ukrainians living outside of Ukraine.
It is noted that Kyivstar supported access to key services, including digital health, information and entertainment services. The number of Kyivstar’s multi-user subscribers increased by +37.8% year-on-year, while multi-user revenues grew by 51.7% year-on-year.
According to the report, Kyivstar-controlled Helsi Ukraine, the country’s largest digital health platform, increased the number of registered users to 25.4 million patients, up from more than 25 million a quarter earlier.
The number of downloads of the Helsi mobile application increased by 0.4 million to 5.4 million in the second quarter, while the number of medical appointment bookings through the platform remained at around 1.8 million for the quarter.
It is indicated that Kyivstar TV’s streaming service ended the quarter with nearly 1.1 million users, representing a +35.0% year-on-year growth. In Q2 2023, 2,500 Kyivstar TV customers enjoyed the recently introduced ‘Kids Profile’, a special portfolio of content for children, while around 11,600 customers enjoyed educational content available on the platform for free.
However, overall, the number of fixed-line customers decreased by 4.5% to 1.1 million over the year, while revenue growth in the sector amounted to 7.5% to UAH 483 million.
It is noted that in accordance with the strategy “4G everywhere” in the second quarter of 2023, Kyivstar connected 80 more settlements to its 4G network, added about 270 new 4G base stations and upgraded almost 1,600 more base stations to 4G standard. Capital expenditures increased by 35.1% year-on-year to UAH 1.395 billion. As of the end of June, the Kyivstar team was maintaining almost 94% of the radio network.
According to the report, in total for the first half of 2023, Kyivstar’s revenue in UAH increased by 11.2% to UAH 16.956 billion, EBITDA by 6.2% to UAH 10.006 billion, and capital investments by 28.6% to UAH 2.176 billion.
Including in the mobile segment, revenue growth amounted to 11.7%, to UAH 15.897 billion (of which data transmission – by 10.2%, to UAH 9.15 billion), while in fixed-line communications – only 1.5%, to UAH 946 million.
“Kyivstar is Ukraine’s largest telecommunications operator. It provides communication and data transmission services based on a wide range of mobile and fixed technologies.
Overall, VEON’s revenue in Q2 decreased by 4.3% y-o-y to $916 mln, while EBITDA fell by 10.6% to $415 mln.
Net profit of the state-owned PrivatBank (Kyiv) for January-June 2023 amounted to UAH 29.75 billion, which is 4.7 times higher than in the same period of 2022, according to the unconsolidated semi-annual report of the bank.
According to it, in particular, in the second quarter of this year net profit reached UAH 13.7 billion, which is 5.3 times higher than the net profit for the second quarter of last year.
It is indicated that the net interest income of PrivatBank for the first half of the year increased by 81.4% to UAH 27.86 billion, including in the second quarter the growth amounted to 74.2% to UAH 14.09 billion.
Meanwhile, net fee and commission income in January-June this year increased by 41.3% to UAH 11.64 billion, including in the second quarter – by 43.65% to UAH 5.94 billion.
A significant contribution to the improvement of the bank’s financial result was made by a decrease in the loss from utility reduction in the first half of this year to UAH 769 million, while for the same period last year this indicator amounted to UAH 7.54 billion. According to the report, in the second quarter of this year, this item even generated UAH 51 million in profit against a loss of UAH 5.67 billion in the second quarter of last year.
PrivatBank also reports that its total profit for the first half of this year reached UAH 35.89 billion, which is 7.4 times higher than the figure for January-June last year, including a total profit of UAH 19.325 billion in the second quarter-2023 against UAH 4.85 billion in the same period of 2022.
According to the report, the bank’s assets grew by 5% in the first half of 2023, reaching UAH 568.84 billion by June 30.
This growth is explained by an increase in cash and funds with the NBU from UAH 96.4 billion to UAH 148.23 billion and loans and advances to customers from UAH 68.08 billion to UAH 76.53 billion, while investments in securities increased marginally from UAH 239.75 billion to UAH 240.64 billion, and debts of other banks decreased by 24.6% to UAH 78.3 billion.
PrivatBank’s customer funds increased from UAH 471.97 billion to UAH 488.06 billion in the first six months of 2023, while capital increased from UAH 57.79 billion to UAH 69.52 billion.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine as of June 1, 2023, PrivatBank is the leader in terms of total assets (UAH 742.433 billion) among 65 operating banks in the country.
According to the NBU, Privat closed 79 branches in the second quarter, reducing its network to 1,131 units across Ukraine, although its report said it had eight branches and 1,199 operating outlets at mid-year, just one less than at the beginning of the year.
